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  • Letters to the Editor | June 25, 2026

    Letters to the Editor | June 25, 2026

    Where’s our good deal?

    Americans deserve a just outcome of the war that Donald Trump began with Iran. Trump recklessly and without provocation ordered the attack on the sovereign country of Iran. Although our national pride is trying to convince us to believe we should be getting a “good deal,” we should be searching for a just deal.

    A just deal requires that we pay retribution to Iran for this attack, the Iranian lives lost, sacred and historical sites ruined, and the destruction of infrastructure. A just deal also requires that Trump and his enablers be held accountable for the suffering Americans experienced, including lives lost, life-altering injuries received, financial hardships endured, and billions of hard-earned tax dollars wasted.

    A just deal will only be delivered to Americans if we, as a nation, agree that the justice we deserve will not come from something Iran cedes to us. Justice will come only from our country paying for the destruction caused by this war of choice, and from Americans holding Trump and his Republican enablers accountable for the harm they brought to Iran, our country, and others around the world. Justice will come when we, as Americans, insist that they are prevented from executing such a harmful whim again.

    Donna Nawalkowsky, Philadelphia

    Hatred finds voice

    You don’t need to search too far to find examples of distrust and dislike among Americans. At a recent conference I attended, a white woman fingered her cross necklace, telling me she was shaken when a prominent speaker said twice, “Some of my best friends are white,” a statement that led to a nodding, laughing agreement from hundreds of audience members. “This is the statement traditionally used by those who hate Jews … the word Jew is used, rather than white,” she explained. An unnecessary explanation, as I am Jewish. Soon after, I heard about the Cornell University student who turned down a potential job at a tech start-up because the founders are Jewish. He has received more than $19,000 from supporters who blame Jewish people for trying to “ruin” his reputation. I was even more sickened by the vicious remarks made about Michelle Obama by one of the fighters brought to the White House lawn in celebration of Donald Trump’s 80th birthday, as our 47th president sat silently.

    Following the conference, I contacted a Black colleague, asking how best to address entrenched hatred. We spoke about the necessity of intense, far-reaching grassroots efforts to bring people together, including truthful examinations of our history. We also agreed on the necessity of deep listening to the experiences of others, in which we all do our best to free ourselves from bias and assumptions.

    A neighbor recently asked if I thought today’s ugliness and dangers were new. My response was that the potential toward hate, a virulent, contagious, ever-sleeping monster, has always been there. The difference today is that the monster is being awakened, courted, and embraced by officials who will do all possible to destroy a precious, hard-won, ever-vulnerable democracy. They will stop at nothing to maintain their power and control, including the use of a war they instigated to call off a forthcoming presidential election.

    SaraKay Smullens, Philadelphia

    Join the conversation: Send letters to letters@inquirer.com. Limit length to 150 words and include home address and day and evening phone number. Letters run in The Inquirer six days a week on the editorial pages and online.

  • Dear Abby | Woman’s antics at the office negatively impact co-workers

    DEAR ABBY: I have worked with “Bev” for 12 years. She is insufferable. I love my job and my other co-workers, but they all feel the same way as I do. Bev is a domineering, bullying, entitled woman in her late 50s. She has two “friends” in the entire facility and, unfortunately, considers me one of them, as well as our boss, “Janet,” who I am sure merely tolerates her as I do.

    Bev calls me incessantly during the day to talk about her personal life. She demeans people and is controlling and rude. She says she is “so busy,” but other people end up doing her work for her while she takes all the credit. When my phone rings and it’s her, I can feel the life being sucked out of me, and I want to throw my phone at the wall.

    The problem is that her other “friend” is Janet. Bev constantly says that nobody can say anything about her because the boss will tell her, which makes it hard for the rest of us who all feel the same way about her. It is affecting my mental health. She calls no fewer than 10 times a day, and then she complains about how busy she is, after she has kept me on the phone 15 minutes or more talking about her personal life. I feel like one day I’m going to explode, and I do not want to lose my job. Help!

    — VAMPIRE VICTIM

    DEAR VAMPIRE VICTIM: Do you know for a fact that Janet considers Bev a friend? You may see them talking frequently, but that doesn’t mean Janet is enjoying it. If, as you say, everyone else in the workplace dislikes her, it’s hard to believe the boss hasn’t noticed.

    Have a private chat with Janet. Tell her about the long, unwelcome chats, the bullying and the rudeness. Be as specific as you can. Ask her if she really supports Bev’s habit of invoking their friendship to avoid social consequences. If Janet takes Bev’s side in everything — which is doubtful — at least you’ll know where you stand.

    ** ** **

    DEAR ABBY: I have a male friend I would really like to get to know better. I would love to date him. We are both divorced and have relatives who no longer speak to us. I know he’s single and not seeing anyone.

    I haven’t had a relationship in three years. I sometimes wonder what’s wrong with me. I’m a bit overweight but I have a great personality. I can’t understand why I can’t get a man interested in me. What can I do to get this man (or any man) interested in me?

    — READY IN NORTH CAROLINA

    DEAR READY: You say your personality isn’t the problem. Not every man finds skinny women attractive. However, if you suspect that your weight is what’s keeping him (and other men) away, it may be time to address it. Talk with your doctor about a healthy eating plan and join a gym.

  • Horoscopes: Thursday, June 25, 2026

    ARIES (March 21-April 19). Your gift to relationships is thoughtfulness. You express affection through practical care, reliability and sincerity. Don’t let perfectionism in. Remember that people feel closest to you when they can relax around you. Love lets you relax the controls.

    TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Your gift to relationships is devotion. You protect, uplift and celebrate the people you love with remarkable consistency. Don’t confuse being needed with being valued. Remember to leave room for mystery. Love will adore you “as-is,” no performance necessary.

    GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Your gift to relationships is emotional courage. You’re willing to care deeply and create real intimacy. Don’t carry the entire emotional weight of the relationship alone. Remember that support is meant to flow both ways. Love will wrap you in tenderness.

    CANCER (June 22-July 22). Your gift to relationships is leadership. To initiate takes boldness and a willingness to be vulnerable. You move forward and show the other person it’s OK to trust you. Remember to take turns. Love will delight you with surprising reciprocity.

    LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Your gift to relationships is compassion. With great empathy, you imagine emotional worlds that others can barely articulate themselves. Don’t lose your center trying to merge and bond. Remember that boundaries protect the specialness. Love teaches you to trust yourself.

    VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Your gift to relationships is encouragement. You notice potentials and breathe life into unrealized talents and dreams. Remember to live in the present. Don’t focus exclusively on what could be. Love shows you the beauty that already exists between you.

    LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Your gift to relationships is unparalleled attentiveness. You reflect, study and adore your partner’s unique way of moving through the world. Don’t let things get asymmetrical. Remember to receive. Love will reveal your own originality to you.

    SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Your gift to relationships is depth. You crave honesty and have a rare ability to make others feel emotionally seen and profoundly desired. Don’t test people unnecessarily. Remember that trust grows more easily when it’s offered freely. Love rewards gentleness.

    SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Your gift to relationships is openness. You bring humor and a perspective that makes life larger and more alive. Don’t run from stillness. Remember that commitment can expand your world instead of limiting it. Love has both roots and wings.

    CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Your gift to relationships is understanding. You can see multiple perspectives at once. Don’t lose yourself trying to maintain harmony. Remember that honesty is more intimate than politeness. Love will help you discover the strength of your own desires.

    AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Your gift to relationships is loyalty. You commit wholeheartedly to building something meaningful over time. Don’t become so responsible that vulnerability disappears. Remember that softness creates trust, too. Love will reward you when you allow yourself to be fully known.

    PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). You don’t distance yourself from emotional intensity. You give people room to be complicated, unconventional and entirely themselves without judgment. Remember that connection requires participation, not just understanding. Love will meet you with the same freedom and acceptance you offer others.

    TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (June 25). It’s your Year of Following Footsteps as the well-worn path welcomes you and you don’t have to work to figure out what to do; you only have to step in the imprints. Because the basics are made easy for you, your creative mind will whir with ways to elevate your work. More highlights: You’ll plan and create games. Extraordinary relationships feel enchanted, as though they’re of another reality. Work awakens dormant talents. Aries and Virgo adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 12, 8, 19, 33 and 2.

  • Derek Hill’s two-run homer in the ninth completes another Phillies comeback victory over the Nationals

    Derek Hill’s two-run homer in the ninth completes another Phillies comeback victory over the Nationals

    WASHINGTON — Kyle Schwarber and Derek Hill were down in the batting cages together underneath Nationals Park when the ninth inning began.

    Schwarber had been on the bench for the last two days with tightness in his lower back, but he started to feel like himself again by the seventh inning on Wednesday night. He let interim manager Don Mattingly know he was available to pinch-hit if needed.

    The Phillies, trailing the Nationals by one run, hoped they would have an occasion to use him. And when right-handed pitcher Orlando Ribalta came out for the ninth, Schwarber knew they would.

    Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber out of the lineup for a second straight game: ‘Just being a little cautious’

    He stepped into the box with two outs, representing the Phillies’ last chance. The Nationals convened on the mound to discuss how to approach him.

    “You’re just trying to stay within yourself, stay in the zone, and just trying to find a way on base,” Schwarber said.

    It took 10 pitches, but Schwarber got there. He fell behind 1-2, and then fouled off four pitches and held off on three more to draw a walk.

    And when the Nationals brought in lefty Richard Lovelady, it was Hill’s turn. The outfielder, who the Phillies acquired earlier this month, delivered a pinch-hit, go-ahead two-run homer for a 5-4 win over Washington.

    Kyle Schwarber, who was out of the starting lineup the last two days with lower back tightness, worked a 10-pitch walk in his pinch-hit appearance in the ninth inning on Wednesday.

    “I’m just trying to go up there and just execute the plan that the hitting department has laid out for us,” Hill told the Phillies radio broadcasters. “And, obviously, tonight they gave us a pretty dang good one.”

    In both at-bats, the Phillies were down to their last strike. And neither Schwarber nor Hill had an automated ball-strike challenge to fall back on, as the Phillies burned both by the fifth inning.

    Hill, who left the clubhouse before reporters entered postgame, has plenty of experience coming off the bench in his six-year career. This season, he has 17 pinch-hit plate appearances between the Phillies and the White Sox.

    But for an everyday player like Schwarber, it’s a much rarer occurrence. Schwarber has 61 career pinch-hit plate appearances, his last coming in 2024.

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    “It’s never easy,” Schwarber said. “It’s the hardest thing to do in the game, I think, is being a pinch-hitter and having to go up there and taking an at-bat.”

    Schwarber watched the Phillies’ furious ninth-inning comeback on Tuesday night inside the visitors’ clubhouse. Due to his back tightness, he’d been unable to contribute as the Phillies went down to their final strike of the game and then rallied back to score eight runs.

    As it unfolded, Schwarber had to keep himself from jumping up and down in excitement.

    “It’s been a couple of crazy nights here,” said Mattingly.

    On Wednesday, the Phillies once again fell behind early. The Nationals built a 2-0 lead on solo home runs off Aaron Nola in the first and second innings. Washington stacked eight lefties — including two switch-hitters — in its lineup. But by the time the Phillies offense jumped ahead in the fourth, Nola appeared to find a rhythm.

    “I just tried to keep the guys in the game as long as I could,” he said.

    After giving up two early solo home runs, Aaron Nola appeared to settle in for the Phillies.

    He got ahead in the count more often, throwing first-pitch strikes 62% of the time. Nola successfully shut down Nationals star James Wood in all three of his plate appearances against him, striking him out in the third inning with a knuckle curve. It was one of five strikeouts Nola recorded over five innings.

    “He’s the kind of guy I’ve learned to appreciate more and more, just the way he continues to fight, continues to make pitches,” Mattingly said. “He may bend a little bit, but he just doesn’t give in and stop pitching.”

    The Phillies punched back, capitalizing on two singles, a double, a fielding error, and a sacrifice fly to score three runs and take the lead in the fourth. Alec Bohm, who ultimately reached first base on the error, fouled a ball off his foot in his at-bat and appeared to be in some pain. He played through it and remained in the game, but Mattingly said afterward that Bohm will get X-rays to ensure there isn’t a break.

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    Some managerial maneuvering backfired on Mattingly in the sixth as the Nationals jumped back in front. When Curtis Mead stepped up to pinch-hit against Phillies lefty Kyle Backhus, Mattingly countered by bringing in Jonathan Bowlan. As a righty, Bowlan had the advantageous matchup on paper against Mead, a right-handed hitter.

    But Bowlan served up a first-pitch sweeper to Mead, who blasted it over Brandon Marsh’s head and into the left field seats for a two-run homer.

    Things worked out, however, after a similar countermove in the ninth. After Schwarber’s walk, the Nationals brought in the left-handed Lovelady to face Justin Crawford, prompting Mattingly to call on Hill.

    “He’s been making some really good adjustments since he’s gotten to us,” Schwarber said of Hill. “He works extremely hard, and he fits right in with our group. And to see him go out there and have that big swing, put us ahead, it’s really cool.”

    Mattingly also used Garrett Stubbs as a pinch-runner for Schwarber, and Stubbs remained in the game to play third base for the bottom of the ninth.

    Phillies closer Jhoan Duran struck out the Nationals in order in the ninth inning to pick up his 19th save of the season.

    He was not tested defensively, though, because Jhoan Duran struck out the side to earn the save and seal the Phillies’ second straight ninth-inning comeback.

    “It’s them understanding that this game’s never over,” Mattingly said. “ … I think that’s important for our club to know that we can score a lot, we can score a little, we can score in different ways. I think these wins are very important.”

  • Mama Kelce’s Jello shots, a prosthetic leg beer chug, and more from Jason Kelce’s annual Sea Isle fundraiser

    Mama Kelce’s Jello shots, a prosthetic leg beer chug, and more from Jason Kelce’s annual Sea Isle fundraiser

    Jason Kelce must have learned that “no shirt, no shoes, no service” applies to pants as well.

    After starting last year’s fundraiser with tear-away shorts and a Speedo, Jason Kelce was comparatively reserved this year for his entrance when he and wife Kylie Kelce hosted the sixth annual “Shore Birds” event at the Ocean Drive in Sea Isle City benefiting the Eagles Autism Foundation on Wednesday.

    Last year, the fundraiser raised over $1 million, increasing the bar for this year’s goal. Here are some of the highlights from this year’s event …

    Downward dogs run faster

    The expression, “the calm before the storm,” foreshadows what the morning of the Team 62 fundraiser looked like.

    Before things got rowdy at Ocean Drive, Kylie Kelce hosted her annual workout in the morning to set a calmer pace for the day.

    Local social media influencer Katie Begley, also known as Popstar Katie, led the workout, which took place on the grass at Sea Isle City’s Excursion Park.

    The Dream Team

    While Kylie spent the morning working out like an Olympian, there was an actual Olympian in attendance for the day’s main event.

    United States Women’s rugby player Ilona Maher made her bartending debut, also serving Jello shots with the event’s matriarch, Donna Kelce.

    But Maher’s participation wasn’t limited to just serving the beer. She was also consuming it.

    Maher was on Team Kelce for a round of flip cup, working with both Jason and Kylie Kelce and Beau Allen to secure the win.

    Jersey Swap

    No, your eyes are not deceiving you. Allen was wearing a cropped Fletcher Cox jersey.

    While most of the other current and former football players opted to sport their own names and numbers on their jersey, Allen, who played with the Eagles across four seasons from 2014-17, instead represented one of his former teammates.

    Allen, a staple at the Team 62 fundraiser, not only had a new jersey, but he also had a new job this year, helping Donna Kelce serve — or in Allen’s case, eat— water ice, alongside Eagles edge rusher Jalyx Hunt.

    Cornerback Cooper DeJean, defensive tackle Ty Robinson, and safety Andre’ Sam were also in attendance, along with chief of security for the Eagles Dom DiSandro, and Cole Peterson, assistant to the head coach.

    Sign here, please

    After being passed a prosthetic leg, Jason Kelce chugged a beer out of it before signing it.

    Kylie Kelce also added her signature to the leg, which collected multiple other signatures throughout the event.

    Wedding Bells

    And of course, it wouldn’t be a Kelce family event without mentioning the soon-to-be newest member and Travis Kelce’s fianceé, Taylor Swift.

    There has been increasing speculation about the venue and details of the wedding, set for July 3, this week.

    Jason Kelce, however, decided to “plead the fifth” on wedding-related questions.

    That didn’t stop Swift’s music from being brought up again later in the day.

  • Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber out of the lineup for a second straight game: ‘Just being a little cautious’

    Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber out of the lineup for a second straight game: ‘Just being a little cautious’

    WASHINGTON — Kyle Schwarber was out of the Phillies lineup on Wednesday, missing a second consecutive game with tightness in his lower back.

    The Phillies designated hitter felt his back lock up a few minutes before first pitch on Tuesday. He found it difficult to swing, and was a late scratch from what would ultimately be a roller coaster 14-9 win over Washington.

    Interim manager Don Mattingly said Wednesday that Schwarber was feeling better, but he wanted to be cautious and give him another day off. Bryce Harper was in the lineup at designated hitter, with Alec Bohm moving to first base and Edmundo Sosa starting at third.

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    “I think if it was a different time of year, we’d do everything we could to get him to play today, and he would too, I think,” Mattingly said. “But just being a little cautious with him, don’t want to end up being two weeks or something.”

    Mattingly said pregame on Wednesday that he hoped Schwarber would improve enough to be available off the bench in an emergency situation as a pinch-hitter. But he didn’t want to put a definitive timetable on Schwarber’s return.

    “If it takes another day, it takes another day,” Mattingly said. “And we got guys who can play. So [better to] be cautious.”

    On Tuesday, Sosa slid into the lineup at designated hitter in Schwarber’s place on short notice, and had five RBIs in the Phillies’ comeback win, including a ninth-inning double that was part of their eight-run rally with two outs.

    “I definitely wish Schwarber was out there every single night for us, but health always comes first, and we got to make sure he’s OK, and get him back out there,” Brandon Marsh said. “But it’s just next-man-up mentality. Sosa stepped up and had a tremendous game for us, man.”

    Andrew Painter was optioned to triple A by the Phillies on June 18.

    Painter set to return to action in triple A

    Andrew Painter is scheduled to start on Sunday for triple-A Lehigh Valley, his first game appearance since being optioned on June 18.

    After the Phillies’ prized rookie struggled to a 7.06 ERA in 14 games, the Phillies sent him down to the minors to work on his fastball. Batters were slugging .660 against his four-seam. The pitch has a run value of minus-11 according to StatCast, which is third-worst among four-seamers in the majors, only better than those thrown by Aaron Nola (minus-13) and the Rockies’ Kyle Freeland (minus-12).

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    Instead of getting into a triple-A game right away, Painter threw multiple bullpen sessions to work on his delivery. But he will be back facing the Syracuse Mets on Sunday, which Mattingly said he expects to be a “full start.”

    “I don’t know if it would be a 100-pitch type start, they may want to be cautious a little bit, but there’s no limitations on him, anything he can’t do. It’s a start,” Mattingly said. “Hopefully we get able to start ironing things out, and that starts to take hold.”

    Adolis García’s recovery from surgery is expected be last six to eight months.

    García undergoes surgery

    Adolis García’s season is officially over after undergoing right latissimus dorsi repair surgery on Wednesday morning in Chicago. The timeline for recovery is six to eight months.

    García tore his lat while making a throw from the outfield in Toronto on June 10. He had become a popular member of the Phillies clubhouse after signing a one-year deal in the winter.

    The right fielder has a strong relationship with Sosa, dating back to their time in the St. Louis Cardinals‘ minor league system. García would use his DJ skills to soundtrack the Phillies’ postgame win celebrations, and had a turntable set up in the home clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park.

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    Mattingly said García will be rehabbing at the Phillies complex in Clearwater, Fla., instead of being around the major league club.

    “It’s just hard to have guys that you’re rehabbing every day, when you have a bunch of guys that need treatment and things like that,” Mattingly said. “But he was very popular. I think he was easy to be popular, because he was a positive guy, played with a smile on his face, just a professional from the standpoint of being ready to play every day.”

    Extra bases

    Right-hander Bryse Wilson, who was designated for assignment on Monday, was claimed on waivers by the Chicago Cubs. … Cristopher Sánchez (9-3, 1.80 ERA) is scheduled to start Thursday’s series finale against Nationals right-hander Cade Cavalli (4-4, 4.07).

  • The Pennsylvania House passes two bills protecting parental rights, including for incarcerated people

    The Pennsylvania House passes two bills protecting parental rights, including for incarcerated people

    The Pennsylvania House has approved a measure that could help reinstate the rights of parents whose children are in state custody and another that would protect the parental rights of incarcerated people.

    The latter bill clarifies that a person’s incarceration status cannot be the sole reason for taking away parental rights.

    It gives courts flexibility in parental-right termination cases by allowing them to consider an individual’s efforts to comply with family service plan requirements despite being incarcerated. Also, courts could delay filing for termination when incarceration is the primary reason a child has been placed in foster care.

    The Joint State Government Commission’s Task Force on Children recommended the changes in 2011.

    The other bill would give parents whose children have been in the custody of the state for at least 15 months, or who are at least 17 years old, a process to reinstate their parental rights. Those parents would now be able to petition the court and demonstrate they are willing and able to properly care for their children.

    Both bills, which were passed earlier in the week with minimal opposition, now head to the Senate for consideration.

    Democratic State Rep. Rick Krajewski, whose district covers West and Southwest Philly, introduced both bills. Krajewski said that under current law, it is extremely difficult for people whose parental rights have been removed to get them reinstated, and he is interested in providing people second chances.

    “It doesn’t mean those parents are any less loving, any less caring, or any less willing to show up for their children. And unfortunately, people make mistakes … people are also not static. People grow, they go through changes,” he said.

    PA Democratic State Rep. Rick Krajewski speaks to people gathered for a protest in 2022.

    Krajewski said his personal experience witnessing his stepfather being incarcerated and other family members being involved in the criminal justice system helped him understand how detrimental separating children and parents can be for both parties. He said removing a person’s parental rights solely because of incarceration is cruel.

    “This feels like an additional punishment that isn’t relevant to whatever harm they caused. … I don’t think it’s just to add this additional penalty on top,” he said.

    Krajewski has also introduced another child-welfare-related bill that would end the practice of intercepting benefits intended for foster children, and instead place the benefits in a savings account. City Council banned the practice in Philadelphia in 2022 following an Inquirer investigation, but the Philadelphia Department of Human Services still kept over $1 million a year meant for foster children and the practice remained common statewide. The bill was passed out of committee on Wednesday and will be considered by the full House.

    Local advocates like Community Legal Services Philadelphia and Philly Voice for Change, a nonprofit working to prevent family separation, voiced their support for the parental rights bills after they passed.

    “The bipartisan support in the House demonstrates a commitment to families and a recognition that children should not remain in the system when their parents are ready, willing and able to provide safe and loving care,” said Philly Voice for Change cofounder April Lee in a statement.

    “This vote is an important step toward keeping families together, promoting reunification and ensuring that children have every opportunity to return home when it is in their best interest,” she said.

  • Zach Ertz shares his one career regret and gets emotional about the Eagles on ‘New Heights’

    Zach Ertz shares his one career regret and gets emotional about the Eagles on ‘New Heights’

    Entering his ninth season as an Eagle, Zach Ertz could see the writing on the wall. With the continued emergence of tight end Dallas Goedert and a rough four-win 2020 season at the front of mind, it seemed certain the two parties would be headed for a divorce.

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    But finding a landing spot for the three-time Pro Bowler took longer than originally anticipated. Expecting to be dealt before the 2021 preseason, Ertz was still on the roster when training camp arrived. So on a whim, the veteran tight end decided to dye his hair bleach blond.

    “I essentially hadn’t been there all offseason. I had ankle surgery so I was missing OTAs anyway. And I showed up for training camp with blond hair,” Ertz said on his former teammate Jason and Travis Kelce’s New Heights podcast. “I don’t regret much about my time in Philly or this career, but the one thing I do regret is kind of that phase, showing up to training camp with blond hair.”

    Eagles tight end Zach Ertz jogs off the field after the Eagles beat the Atlanta Falcons to open the 2021 season.

    Jason Kelce, who played alongside Ertz for over eight seasons, was as sure as anyone that the Southern California native would get dealt before games started. He was so confident that he put his own head of hair on the line.

    “It was so obvious, unfortunately, that my time was probably coming to an end, that Jason was like, ‘Bro, when are you getting traded? You’re going to get traded any day now. If you’re still on the team Week 1 then I’ll dye my hair,’” Ertz recalled. “I don’t think I had anything to lose in this situation.”

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    And as the summer days rolled on, Ertz’s wait for a trade didn’t materialize — at least not before the Eagles’ Week 1 game against the Atlanta Falcons. So when the longtime teammates ran out onto the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, they were rocking a matching hairdo.

    “I just wanted Zach to have something to look forward to if he was still on the team, like, ‘At least Jason dyed his hair to match,’” Kelce recalled.

    Most important, Ertz’s wife and former U.S. women’s national soccer team star Julie Ertz, who was also a guest on this week’s episode, said she liked her husband’s new look.

    “That’s really all that matters, honestly,” Zach quipped.

    As for Kelce, Ertz referred to him as Guy Fieri as both the hosts and guests reacted an image of a blond Kelce, that Jason called “the worst photo of me possible.”

    Jason Kelce dyed his hair to match Ertz’s at the start of the 2021 season.

    “I don’t think Kylie [Kelce] liked your hair as much as I liked Zach’s hair,” Julie joked.

    Ertz remembers his Philly days

    Ertz was also asked to reflect on his time in Philly.

    “When you spend nine years somewhere, you’re going to always have a natural affinity for the place,” Ertz said. “Unfortunately … I wasn’t able to play my whole career [in Philadelphia].”

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    But what Ertz most appreciated from his time on the Eagles were his teammates. After getting selected in the second round of the 2013 draft, Ertz quickly inserted himself into a young Eagles foundation designed to remain intact for years — one that also included Kelce, Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, and Lane Johnson.

    “The thing I look back on fondest is our core group of guys that we had together for a long period of time, with you, Lane, BG, Fletch, myself,” Ertz said. “It wasn’t easy all the time for any of us. Like there were times we’d get killed in the media or whatever it was, and I always knew you four always had my back regardless of what we were going [through]. And I hope you guys felt the same about me.

    “And it is a little emotional talking about — I don’t know why — but just going through that, just being around the guys. No one is going to remember about how many yards or catches or starts we had, but I do remember the day-to-day, grinding, the stories of you kicking over a trash can because you didn’t like the way a coach was treating someone else, or Lane hiding your helmet — those are the things I remember.”

    Eagles tight end Zach Ertz (left) and defensive end Brandon Graham (right) walk off the field after a 37-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in December 2020.

    Ertz’s time in Philly ended in November 2021 when a long-awaited trade sent him to the Arizona Cardinals. The Eagles’ single-season receptions leader played two more seasons with the Cardinals and two with the Washington Commanders. But when Ertz, who is now a free agent, returned to the City of Brotherly Love with Washington, he couldn’t get the Birds’ fight song out of his head.

    “Even when [I was] on the other sideline … It’s still like subtly in the back of my mind,” Ertz admitted, “singing it as I’m over there watching.”

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    What’s next for Ertz?

    Looking ahead, Ertz is aiming to suit up to play in his 14th NFL season, but he does not yet know where. Complicating the situation is a season-ending ACL tear that the 35-year-old suffered in a Week 14 shutout loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

    But Ertz is pleased with the recovery progress he’s made and expects to be ready near the start of the season.

    “We’re in a good spot. We’re like five, almost six months now from surgery, so just training every day, doing everything I can to get back to where I was,” Ertz said. “It’s a long process. There’s some long days, there’s some long weeks, some long months … it’s tough, but we’re just trying to stack these days right now.”

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  • A quiet World Cup rule change could become a loud controversy in the final group-stage games

    A quiet World Cup rule change could become a loud controversy in the final group-stage games

    IRVINE, Calif. — If you’re new to soccer, this is the sort of thing you should know about as you learn the sport. And even if you’re a veteran of the game, you might not have realized it had happened.

    For many years, FIFA’s first standings tiebreaker at World Cups was soccer’s tradition of goal difference: goals scored minus goals conceded. But this time, it has switched to head-to-head result, the format used by the Union of European Football Associations in the Champions League and other continental tournaments.

    It didn’t exactly go unnoticed when it was announced, but it wasn’t seen as a big deal. Now, though, it has become a growing controversy.

    The issue isn’t so much about determining group winners, though the U.S. has benefited on that front. If goal difference was the first tiebreaker, the Americans wouldn’t have clinched first place yet.

    The U.S. win over Australia combined with Paraguay’s win over Turkey last week clinched first place in the group.

    They have because Paraguay beat Turkey a few hours after the U.S. beat Australia. That left the U.S. with six points, Paraguay and Australia with three each, and Turkey with none.

    Since the U.S. has beaten Paraguay and Australia, it has the tiebreaker over both. So if Turkey beats the U.S Thursday night (10 p.m., Fox29, Telemundo 62) and there’s a winner in Paraguay-Australia (10 p.m., FS1, Universo), the U.S. will keep first with a tie on six points. With a goal difference tiebreaker, even though the Americans are sitting at a strong plus-5, a big loss plus a big win in the other game could have changed things.

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    The bigger issue tournament-wide is how head-to-head has eliminated teams after two games — and it’s magnified further by the best eight third-place teams qualifying.

    If goal difference was the first tiebreaker, a last-place team could jump to third in the last minute and have a prayer of making the cut. Instead, five of the tournament’s 48 squads were eliminated before playing their finales: Turkey, Haiti, Jordan, Panama, and Tunisia. (Haiti’s elimination came in Philadelphia with the loss to Brazil.)

    Cecilio Waterman’s Panama joined Haiti as Concacaf teams eliminated from advancing after two games.

    There has been some outrage among purists about this in Europe, even though they’re more used to the format than they might admit because of the Champions League. But even the talking heads who understand the head-to-head way’s benefits have agreed with something that Americans ought to be able to see, too.

    It’s more fun when more teams are alive going into the last round of games. If goal difference was the first decider, there could be a dose of chaos along with the stars, underdogs, and however many goals are scored.

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    Fortunately, Philadelphia’s last two group games will have drama. On Thursday, Curaçao, one of this tournament’s greatest underdog stories, could snatch one of the top eight third-place finishes if it upsets Ivory Coast (4 p.m., FS1, Universo) and Germany beats Ecuador in the Meadowlands (4 p.m., Fox29, Telemundo 62). On the flip side, if Ecuador wins that game, Ivory Coast will have to win or tie to keep hold of second.

    Then on Saturday, Ghana and Croatia will have lots to play for (5 p.m., FS1, Universo). Ghana could steal first place if Panama upsets England in the Meadowlands (5 p.m., Fox29, Telemundo 62), while Croatia needs a win to finish second and avoid playing a group winner in the round of 32.

    Ghana’s tie with England on Tuesday in Foxborough, Mass., means the Black Stars still have a slim chance of winning their group.

    Wondering what the players think? Alas, you won’t get much out of the U.S. camp. All they care about is winning games. But at least veteran centerback Chris Richards brought some humor.

    “On our end, we just want go into the next round with nine points,” he said. “I haven’t really thought too much about the rule change — I feel like the rules are always changing, so I’m kind of confused myself. But as long as we keep winning, that’s the number one thing.”

    Can the USMNT really win this World Cup? Probably not, but the players are allowed to believe it.

    Pulisic ‘feeling good,’ hopes to play

    Christian Pulisic got right to the point when he arrived to meet the media before Wednesday’s practice.

    “Can I guess the first question?” he said, knowing full well what it would be. Of course everyone wanted to know how he and his rehabbed calf were feeling.

    Christian Pulisic reaches for the ball in a drill at Wednesday’s practice.

    “I’m feeling good,” he said as he headed into a third straight day of full participation. “I’ve obviously joined with the team in the last few days. So I’m feeling good, positive going into [the game], and hopefully I’ll be able to play a part in it tomorrow.”

    The Hershey native reconfirmed that he was kicked in his left calf in practice a few days before the U.S.-Paraguay game (he politely declined to say who did it), then again in the first half of the contest.

    “Throughout the first half I felt good, and then I started to notice it a little bit, and I think adrenaline definitely carried me through,” he said. “I think I had a pretty strong contusion, strain, whatever you want to call it.”

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    It might have hurt more emotionally than physically that he couldn’t play against Australia. He certainly took in as much of that day as he could as a spectator.

    “I never really feared the worst, but I obviously didn’t want it to keep me out any longer than it had to,” Pulisic said. “And I was really trying to get ready for the last game — I feel like I could have gone, but it just wasn’t quite there.”

    U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino (right) and goalkeeper coach Toni Jiménez at Wednesday’s practice.

    Players with yellow cards won’t play vs. Turkey

    In his news conference Wednesday afternoon, U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino confirmed that the four players with yellow cards — Tyler Adams, Folarin Balogun, Richards, and Antonee Robinson — won’t play vs. Turkey so that they don’t pick up another and get suspended for the round of 32.

    “I think it isn’t necessary to take a risk and then to take another yellow card, and be not available for the next stage,” Pochettino said. “And I think that is a little bit a normal and easy answer: not to play with them from the beginning.”

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    He said of Pulisic’s status: “He’s available, and then we need to decide if it’s possible for him to play from the beginning or be on the bench and play in the second half.”

    Cristian Roldan is also dealing with a minor quad injury, and has not practiced for the last few days.

    “We need to assess tomorrow if he can be available,” Pochettino said. “I think he’s evolving really well. If it’s not for tomorrow, hopefully for next week.”

  • The Pa. Attorney General’s Office seeks to intervene in a murder case that Philly prosecutors helped overturn last month

    The Pa. Attorney General’s Office seeks to intervene in a murder case that Philly prosecutors helped overturn last month

    The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office on Wednesday said it was appealing and seeking to intervene in a murder case that Philadelphia prosecutors helped overturn last month — the first application of a recent state Supreme Court ruling that gave state prosecutors more oversight over their city counterparts in appellate matters.

    The notice, filed Wednesday in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, seeks to insert the attorney general’s office into the case of Marc Brittingham, Rasheed Turner, and Jermal Shuler, whose convictions in a 1997 killing were vacated in May after prosecutors and defense attorneys said key evidence presented at their trial was unreliable.

    As a result, Brittingham, Turner, and Shuler were freed from prison after 28 years.

    But last week, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said in a forceful ruling that District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office had displayed a pattern of misleading judges while seeking to overturn murder convictions. Moving forward, the justices said, the state attorney general’s office should be given the opportunity to review such cases before a judge can decide whether to grant relief.

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    The filings raise a procedural question at the heart of the new ruling. The Supreme Court’s decision requires judges to notify the attorney general and gives the office “the right to intervene in the case before ruling on the concession.” But in this case, that moment had already come and gone; the judge had accepted the district attorney’s position and overturned the convictions.

    What may have allowed the attorney general back in was timing: The 30-day window to appeal the decision had not closed yet. The office filed its notice of intervention and an appeal on day 29.

    Krasner, in a brief phone call Wednesday, said, “I hope the public will watch this case carefully.”

    “I hope they will watch what our attorney general’s office stands for and what the district attorney’s office stands for,” he said. “Stay tuned. It’s going to tell us a lot about what’s really going on.”

    Deputy Attorney General Hugh Burns did not say in court documents how or why the office believed it had authority to intervene in this case, saying only that it was taking the action in response to the state Supreme Court’s order from last week.

    A spokesperson for the office declined to comment.

    Wednesday’s filing seeks to reopen a case in which many of the facts underlying the district attorney’s decision to join defense lawyers in seeking to vacate the convictions remain obscured by extensive redactions in court filings.

    Prosecutors and defense attorneys said the case was undermined by newly uncovered information about the work of Bennett Preston, a former assistant medical examiner whose testimony helped establish the prosecution’s timeline of Essie Mae Thomas’ death.

    Thomas, 73, was found stabbed to death inside her Northwest Philadelphia home in November 1997. A jury convicted Brittingham, Turner, and Shuler the following year, after hearing testimony from a neighbor who placed them at the home and from Preston, who linked Thomas’ time of death to the witness’ account. Nearly three decades later, Krasner’s prosecutors said that the testimony of the witness and Preston was questionable, and that disciplinary action had been taken against Preston.

    The details of those disciplinary actions, however, were redacted from filings.

    Officials with the district attorney’s office have said that the discovery of previously unknown disciplinary action involving Preston helped prompt the reinvestigation. But prosecutors have declined to publicly detail much of that information, and court records filed in the case concealed significant portions of the evidence that led them to conclude the convictions could no longer stand.

    When Common Pleas Court Judge Jennifer Schultz vacated the convictions in May, she found that the newly uncovered evidence would likely have changed the outcome of the trial. Prosecutors then withdrew the charges, ending the case and allowing the men to walk free.

    Jules Epstein, a criminal law professor at Temple University, said “this is unknown territory.” Because a court order is not final for 30 days, he said, the office could have a right to appeal.

    He pointed to comments from the attorney general’s office this week in which it said it was still working out a process for how and when to intervene in cases.

    “What disturbs me is did they actually look at the merits of this decision? Or did they just knee jerk and say, ‘It’s Krasner, we’re going to challenge it’?”

    Marissa Boyers Bluestine, assistant director of the Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice at the University of Pennsylvania‘s law school, said the language of the high court’s order did not appear to leave room for retroactivity.

    Bluestine, who worked on Brittingham, Turner, and Shuler’s case in her previous role leading the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, said it was also curious that the attorney general’s office was involving itself without the judge’s invitation.

    “They’re saying that they are intervening, not requesting permission to intervene, which is an interesting way to put it,” she said.